Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper) French authorities have opened a case against an Emirati general currently serving as the president of Interpol, after concluding investigation into allegations of torture and arbitrry detention filed by two British nationals.
The investigation has been handled by the French anti-terror prosecutors, who have now forwarded their case to an investigating magistrate. The magistrate will now be expected to decide whether to press charges.
The non-profit Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) originally submitted claims to the French prosecutors that General Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi was among the people responsible for the torture of Ahmed Mansoor, an Emirati dissident arrested in 2017 under charges of “spreading false and misleading information” over the internet.
In the latest, separate case, two British citizens also reported being abused during their time in prison in the UAE while al-Raisi was inspector general. Student Matthew Hedges reported he was held for nearly six months in solitary confinement and was fed a cocktail of drugs during his imprisonment, after being arrested in Dubai on spying charges. Football fan Ali Ahmad was imprisoned for wearing a Qatar shirt to a match, and was reportedly stabbed, beaten and suffocated with a plastic bag by arresting officers.
Treatment of Mansoor and other human rights activists and dissidents in the UAE was flagged as a serious issue ahead of the Interpol elections, in which at the time Al-Raisi was said to be a frontrunner. Despite international protests against his candidacy, he was ultimately appointed Interpol’s new president in a secret vote.
The investigating magistrate will now also be tasked with deciding whether al-Raisi enjoys diplomatic immunity in France. If charges are raised and al-Raisi is not considered immune, he could be held for questioning the next time he arrives in France – a likely occurrence since the Interpol headquarters is located in Lyons.
